Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT The Old Man At The End Of The World by @AKSilversmith #Apocalypse

Georgia has been reading The Old Man At The End Of The World: Bite No.1 by A.K Silversmith

I’ll be honest and say I don’t know much about zombies but thought I’d try this and see what they’re all about. I’m assuming that some other books of this genre are considerably more gory and scary but this one is a different sort of read. There is a bit of zombie like behaviour in it – blood and gore and what have you, but overall it came across as more a humorous telling of a terribly British reaction to the whole situation.

Gerald Stockwell-Poulter is earthing up leeks one minute and being attacked by a fellow allotment holder the next. Hamilton comes to his rescue and after a bit of toing and froing, and taking pity on the rather smug Finnbar they manage to find sanctuary at Gerald’s house.

It did start off a little silly but once I’d settled in I found much of the humour amusing and enjoyed the writing. There wasn’t a lot of emotion shown at all and it didn’t come across as if these characters feared the zombies but instead just found them a bit of a nuisance. There were reminders of Shaun of the Dead in there with the humour and also of Carry on up the Khyber. No zombies in that of course but it was the same stoicism as shown in the dinner towards the end of the film when bombs are falling all around but proper dinner etiquette must be followed. Nothing is more important to Gerald than getting back home in order to have, of course, a nice cup of tea, regardless of the mayhem playing out amongst his neighbours.

All in all this is a small bite of a light-hearted zombie book, well written and amusing.

Book Description

Gerald Stockwell-Poulter couldn’t help but feel it was extraordinary just how quickly his life had changed. One moment he was earthing up leeks in the West Sussex sunshine and the next he was rooted to the spot as Rodney Timmins from the end allotment ambled towards him, arms outstretched, blood pouring from a hole in his neck and a look in his eye which suggested that he was less after help and more after a helping of Gerald.

Now, as Gerald’s life takes a quick turn for the worse, he must do things he has never done before. After 87 largely well-behaved years as a model citizen, less than four hours into the ‘zompocalypse’ and he has already killed a neighbour, rescued a moody millenial drug dealer and forged an unlikely allegiance with a giant ginger Scotsman. And it isn’t even tea time.

Join Gerald as he and his newfound allies navigate the post-apocalyptic English countryside in their hilarious bid to stay off the menu.

The first installment of the Old Man at the End of the World Series. A novella of 20,000 words.

About the author

AK Silversmith is the author of The Old Man at the End of the World; a series of zombie apocalypse Bites centering on the world of 87-year-old Gerald Stockwell-Poulter.

Bite 2 is coming soon…

She was born in Tasmania in 1983 and now lives in western Ireland where the weather is similar but the zombies are still absent.

I’m so glad you enjoyed it Georgia! Tea is a quintessential part of a jolly good British Apocalypse and the quest for the kettle will continue in Bite No.2 as Gerald, Hamilton and Finnbar make their way towards Balcombe, crossing paths with a very capable school girl who is obsessed with ‘prepping’ and puts all their ridiculous antics to shame ;).

Thank you for taking the time to read Bite No.1: The Old Man at the End of the World – I’ve taken all your comments on board and I appreciate your honest and thoughtful review.

Hi Michelle – there are plenty of wonderful zombies books out there (and quite a few dire ones too, as with anything!). The best zombie books can use these horrifying creatures as a way of shining a light on deeper social or political issues.

Max Brooks’ World War Z is very good; the narrative jumps around the globe describing the varying geographical response to a global zombie apocalypse from many POVs. It’s quite a feat for a book with zombies! Frank Tayell’s Surviving The Evacuation series has a great protagonist and a solid survival-orientated storyline – and the series becomes more interesting as it branches out and encompasses various viewpoints and locations. And the first book is free, so it’s the best place to start! Mark Tufo is the other ‘Zombie King’, but his humour is quite quirky and I gather that people either love it or hate it – which is not necessary a bad thing, depending on your viewpoint ;).

The Old Man at the End of the World is a bit of a parody of the genre; taking a very ordinary summer day and dropping something extraordinary into the mix (zombies). The humour is a little bit slapstick in the first 20% (and I agree with Georgia’s review that perhaps it was a little silly to start with – another reviewer made that comment also, so I’ve taken that on board) but settles down after that, which I’m delighted about. Bite No.2, I hope, continues in the same vein!